Arthritis is a very common human bane. Although many animals models of arthritis exist and have been extensively studied, no adequate treatment exists for most forms of arthritis or for related autoimmune diseases with rheumatoid sequelae such as lupus erythematosis. Rheumatoid arthritis presents a particular problem, since it often results in the crippling of affected individuals. While working with one animal model of arthritis (Lewis rats inoculated in the footpad with Mycobacteria, which normally develop adjuvant arthritis), the unexpected observation was made that rats inoculated with a combination of mycobacteria and measles or mycobacteria and measles-mumps-rubella vaccines did not develop arthritis. It was also observed that rats pretreated with porcine myelin basic protein prior to footpad inoculation with mycobacteria were also protected against arthritis. Further experiments showed that the vaccines or MBP were capable of suppressing arthritis once induced.
A literature search has revealed two additional striking observations. First, measles proteins and MBP share extensive regions of homology, suggesting that their common action may share a common mechanism mediated by peptides. This prediction was verified by synthesis of homologous peptides, which also protected and suppressed arthritis. A second observation suggests how important these results may be. Several clinicians have noted that measles infections occasionally mitigate or cure Still's disease, the juvenile form of rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, the treatment regimens described here may represent a significant step towards a treatment or cure for rheumatoid and other forms of arthritis, both in human beings and animals.